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Set A Summer Goal

Most hockey seasons have finished or are close to coming to an end. This is the time of year when everyone is making plans for spring and summer showcases, tournaments, training and things to do hockey related over the summer.Here is a small piece of advice that I know can help you and will cost you nothing but some thought. Set a goal. Simple as that. With all the planning, exploring and running around chasing ideas and theories on what players ‘have’ to do over the summer, sometimes something as simple as setting a simple improvement goal gets lost. Players talk about working hard over the summer and doing this camp or that showcase, but how many actually take some time and identify what they really want to accomplish or should develop over the course of the summer? Here is what I suggest. Take an honest look at yourself as a player and identify something specific that you have to improve on over the summer.Maybe you need to improve your shot. Improve your passing. Become a stronger skater. Get stronger. Get bigger. Improve footspeed. Develop better mental toughness……. The list is endless. But you won’t improve on anything if you do not consciously focus on it and have an end goal. Whatever the goal is, write it down. The process of writing your goal down helps you to clarify what you intend to do, understand the importance of your goal, and commit yourself to making it happen. Writing it down makes you more accountable.

“No one ever accomplishes anything of consequence without a goal……Goal setting is the strongest human force for self motivation.”

The SMART system is a good tool to apply to whatever it is you are going to strive for this summer. Take a look at your goal. Is it specific? Can you measure your progress from the start to where you want to be? Is it attainable and realistic? (You want to push yourself but need to know you can do it.) And is it time based? (achieved by the end of August)

“The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Goals help you determine your priorities and your priorities determine whether you’ll reach your goals. The goal has to be your goal though. Not your parents goal. Not your coaches goal. Your goal.The key to reaching your potential lies in your ability to continually improve. Activity is not enough, but if you set the right, specific goals and work to reach them, improvement is not only obtainable- it’s inevitable.

The great thing is that once you simply identify and commit to a goal, you get moving towards it. It becomes hard to stop. Much like a train, getting it moving is the hardest part. A train standing still can be prevented from moving forward with one inch blocks of wood under each of it’s drive wheels. Once the train is moving though, a concrete wall can’t stop it.Get your train moving. Set a summer improvement goal.